Survival & safety for LGTBQ refugees trapped in South Sudan
Survival & safety for LGTBQ refugees trapped in South Sudan
Beskrivning
My name is Angel, and I’m writing to you from a small town of the Basque Country. In 2022, a chance connection on Instagram introduced me to Patal, a person whose courage has since reshaped my world.
Patal is a non-binary refugee and a beacon of hope for a community of LGBTQ+ individuals in South Sudan who have lost everything fleeing home not once, but many times. Through our video calls, it's hard to ignore the exhaustion in their eyes and the stories from a reality most of us can't even imagine. I couldn't just listen anymore; I had to take action. So, I created this fundraiser to bridge the distance between us. Every cent raised goes directly to Patal via WorldRemit to provide immediate life-saving support for their community.
Here is their story.
We are a small group of LGBTQ refugees from East Africa, with a big number from Uganda and others from Rwanda, Burundi and Congo who came together while escaping persecution, violence, and rejection because of who we are and who we love.
Our journey began in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, where many of us first met and formed a community while trying to find safety. But life there became unbearable for. We faced daily homophobic and transphobic attacks, harassment, arson attacks and threats. Human rights defenders were jailed, and others were killed. Some of us were beaten, our shelters burned, and we often went without food and protection.
As time went on, the Kenyan government made it even harder for LGBTQ refugees to have a sense of protection or safety. We were no longer welcomed, and support for LGBTQ people was pushed away. It became clear that we could not survive there, and many of us had to leave once again even though we had nowhere safe to go.
Over 600 lgbti refugees have managed to reach Gorom Refugee Camp in South Sudan, where we are now trying to rebuild our lives together. But even here, life remains very difficult. We have no proper shelter, not enough food, and we often sleep outside under the open sky, the host community and other refugees are hostile towards us due to our identity.
Our situation worsened when USAID and other organizations stopped their assistance for LGBTQ refugees due to the trump administration, leaving us with almost nothing. We now depend only on each other and on the kindness of strangers who care about humanity and equality.
Our group includes 150 LGBTQ individuals, transgender women, gay men, lesbians and children who continue to stand together for love, peace, and survival. We are asking for your help to raise funds for:
Safe shelter and protection for our group, food, safe drinking water, daily essentials, blankets, mosquito nets, clothings, medical support to treat malaria, typhoid, Cholera and other common diseases in the camp. Funds will also be used to cover communication costs to stay in touch with allies and pushing advocacy.
Note: UNHCR South Sudan is doing its best to find a longterm solution through ressetlement to coutries where we can live freely with diginity, some of our friends have been ressetled to Canada 🇨🇦 already however ressetlement slot are still few to take us all, if you are in position to get in touch with any ressetling country, please send them an email to push for more slot, also private sponsorship is welcomed. Hope, love and solidarity!
Your donation no matter how small will bring us hope, and a sense of safety. Please donate and share our story to create awareness of our marginalized group.
Some links about the situation.
https://www.context.news/socioeconomic-inclusion/aid-cuts-and-abuse-deal-double-blow-to-lgbtq-african-refugees
May better fortunes find you.
Solidarity, Friend.
My name is Angel, and I’m writing to you from a small town of the Basque Country. In 2022, a chance connection on Instagram introduced me to Patal, a person whose courage has since reshaped my world. Patal is a non-binary refugee and a beacon of hope for a community of LGBTQ+ individuals in South Sudan who have lost everything fleeing home not once, but many times. Through our video calls, it's hard to ignore the exhaustion in their eyes and the stories from a reality most of us can't even imagine. I couldn't just listen anymore; I had to take action. So, I created this fundraiser to bridge the distance between us. Every cent raised goes directly to Patal via WorldRemit to provide immediate life-saving support for their community. Here is their story. We are a small group of LGBTQ refugees from East Africa, with a big number from Uganda and others from Rwanda, Burundi and Congo who came together while escaping persecution, violence, and rejection because of who we are and who we love. Our journey began in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, where many of us first met and formed a community while trying to find safety. But life there became unbearable for. We faced daily homophobic and transphobic attacks, harassment, arson attacks and threats. Human rights defenders were jailed, and others were killed. Some of us were beaten, our shelters burned, and we often went without food and protection. As time went on, the Kenyan government made it even harder for LGBTQ refugees to have a sense of protection or safety. We were no longer welcomed, and support for LGBTQ people was pushed away. It became clear that we could not survive there, and many of us had to leave once again even though we had nowhere safe to go. Over 600 lgbti refugees have managed to reach Gorom Refugee Camp in South Sudan, where we are now trying to rebuild our lives together. But even here, life remains very difficult. We have no proper shelter, not enough food, and we often sleep outside under the open sky, the host community and other refugees are hostile towards us due to our identity. Our situation worsened when USAID and other organizations stopped their assistance for LGBTQ refugees due to the trump administration, leaving us with almost nothing. We now depend only on each other and on the kindness of strangers who care about humanity and equality. Our group includes 150 LGBTQ individuals, transgender women, gay men, lesbians and children who continue to stand together for love, peace,